Ayam Penyet Ria – Smashing Chicken

Following my negative review of Ayam Bakar Ojolali in Lucky Plaza, several readers left comments urging me to visit another Indonesian eatery located within the same building – Ayam Penyet Ria.

Ayam Penyet Ria is an Indonesian restaurant with franchises in Jakarta, Medan, Batam, Surabaya and now, Singapore. Apparently it is so popular, it has opened two outlets in Lucky Plaza alone, and a couple more across the island. Even so, we had to queue for some time before we could be seated. Such is the popularity of this place!

The house specialty was obviously the ayam penyet (“ayam” is “chicken”; “penyet” is “to flatten”). This is an authentic Indonesian dish of chicken that is deliberately smashed with a wooden mallet after deep-frying, apparently to loosen the meat from the bone.

Nasi Ayam Penyet (Smashed Fried Chicken with Rice)
S$5.50
Rating:

The chicken had been deep-fried to a golden yellow and was very crispy on the outside. That’s great, except that it was the driest thing ever! To my utmost disappointment, I had trouble eating it because it was so damn dry!

In all fairness, I might have had really high expectations because of all the hype surrounding Ayam Penyet Ria. But I’m a chicken lover, and I know a good chicken dish when I see one. This one did not make the cut.

Additional bits of fried batter had been tossed into the dish for good measure. There were also some greens and a chunk of fried tofu, which were okay.

At the very least I got a real kick out of the chilli sauce, which packed such a powerful punch that most of us couldn’t finish it! It was tangy, really spicy, with just a touch of sweetness.

My eyes turned red and my nose was running even as I stole more chilli sauce from the plate of the nearest person while reaching for tissue paper. Yes, I look bloody unglamorous when eating spicy food, and I totally do not care. That chilli sauce was strangely addictive! All things considered, it went very well with the dry chicken.

Interestingly, the rice was served on traditional plates with the classic rooster print. I found that pretty charming because such plates are rarely in use these days.

Anyway, I highly doubt that I would return to Ayam Penyet Ria. After all, if I want some good ol’ Indonesian chicken, I might as well have the best right? And that’s at Riverside Indonesian BBQ in Plaza Singapura. The chicken there is grilled rather than the deep-fried ayam penyet, which is fine by me.

Quote: I am surprised no one is importing bakmi into singapore, Indonesian bakmi are the most delicious noodles in the world View all

in response to the comment above, there is one bakmie in Singapore now! was just checking if there are ppl looking for bakmie in singapore and found this. anyway, the stall is located at IMM Jurong, 3rd level Bagus foodcourt. just opened recently.

Hey Veron, you should try the Ayam penyet stalls at Changi Village … they are damn nice! A few different stalls sell it at the CV foodcourt, and they are all as good as the other. Ayam Penyet Ria does not come close…. try it before you swear off ayam paneyt, yeah!

Any kind of indonesian ayam goreng (fried chicken) is my favorite food in the world! Especially with kickass sambal terasi. Mmmmhh. Actually i like my fried chicken a little dry. since in traditional indonesian dishes they use kampong chicken, the chicken parts won’t be ‘juicy’ – looking at how meatless kampong chickens are. Moist, juicy indonesian ayam penyet/ ayam kuning/ ayam kalasan/ ayam goreng lengkuas/ whatever other types of indonesian fried chicken for me is unheard of if not unacceptable :P Well for the exeption of ayam pop, it’s supposed to be a moist and oily cos you dont fry it as long as the other ayams. Sing praises to the fried chicken!

My friend brought me to Changi Village for Nasi Ayam Penyet and I really liked it!

The stall is Sri Basari Changi Village, Famous Nasi Ayam Penyet (Purple signboard). They have 2 stalls, one on the wet market side and the other one on the food court side. Try it before you write off ayam penyet!!

NTU Broadway Foodcourt Canteen A stell No:11- Ayam Penyet Gita
According to my Malaysian friends, Ayam Penyet means crushed chicken. It’s very true to a great sense… The chicken served are very tender that it’s easily detached from the bones although they are fried.
This malay stall in the new canteen has gain recognition from students’ mouths-to-mouths’ words! It costs simply $3 with rice and a chicken part (guys may choose to add rice?). Besides the ‘soft’ chicken, the selling point is the neat decoration of the simple dish. The drumstick(topped with tiny crumbs) is placed on top of the banana leaf with cucumbers, fried tou fu slammed with generous amount of sambal chill, satisfying the ‘pre-eating feel’. You can choose to add more sambal chill or the sweet indonesian sauce to further enhance the taste!
MmmMmMmm..Yumyum…Interested to try?….